U.N. AIDS Resolution Draws Fire

The Security Council on Monday adopted its first resolution on a health issue, urging countries to consider developing long-term strategies to combat AIDS and to educate troops who may be deployed on U.N. peacekeeping missions.

The unanimously adopted resolution, sponsored by the U.S., also asks the U.N. to take additional steps to train peacekeepers on preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The final text of the resolution was changed from the original after several countries objected to the council taking on an issue that other U.N. bodies deal with. Also, troop contributors complained that the U.S., which has no U.N. combat troops, was seemingly mandating training and education for others, diplomats said.